COVID-19 is causing many concerns with consumers, but access to your bank shouldn’t be one of them. Here are the top five things you need to know about banking during the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

1. Your banker is listening and ready to act. Customers should contact their banker to talk about how COVID-19 is affecting them, and how the bank can assist. The Virginia banking industry is strong and ready to help. 
2. You have continued access to your funds and bank services. Banks are considered an essential service which means you continue to have access to your funds through in-person services and self-service tools, such as mobile or online banking. 
3. Your bank is prepared. Virginia banks are prepared for situations like a pandemic, with tested and proven business continuity plans and procedures. Although state and federal regulations require banks to be prepared, you’ll find that banks are prepared because they want to continue to serve, not because they are required. 
4. Your bank is looking out for you, your family, and your business. Virginia banks are proactively contacting customers, offering assistance in the form of fee waivers, loan payment deferral programs, credit card payment relief, suspension of foreclosure and repossession programs, and more. They are also helping their customers apply for grants offered at the state and federal level as well. Congress is also working on providing more assistance to businesses through banks in the form of additional changes to federal programs, such as the SBA program.
5. Your money is safe, secure, and insured. FDIC deposit insurance currently covers up to $250,000 per person and ensures the security of consumers’ funds. Congress is working on legislation providing authority for the FDIC to increase this coverage through December 31, 2020.  No consumer has lost a single penny in the history of this insurance fund. 

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About the Virginia Bankers Association

The Virginia Bankers Association represents banks of all sizes and charters and has served as the unified voice for Virginia’s $615 billion banking industry and its 42 thousand employees since 1893. To learn more about the VBA, click here.